A time to get involved: What the new year brings...
OK, so it isn’t new anymore. But the pace of change continues relentlessly. In this blog I will have a quick look at some of the key policy issues that will be shaping our lives over the next 11 months.
A Level Music
I didn’t see this one coming, but perhaps we shouldn’t be surprised. I am expecting to have a telephone interview with Pye Tait Consulting over the next two weeks as part of the research they are carrying out for Ofqual into the GCSE and A Level subject criteria. (For music they are just looking at A level – including music technology – not the GCSE.) You can fill in their questionnaire yourself (see the Pinboard link), and I would welcome any views on what I should be saying to them on behalf of NAME (please email chair@name.org.uk).
National Curriculum Review
It is very quiet. The Ministerial Statement that accompanied the publication of the Expert Panel’s report referred to the publication of a detailed timetable for the remainder of the review in January. With February just around the corner, this is cutting it almost as fine as my new-year blog entry. What we have seen so far is the appointment of a new Advisory Committee that is different from the Expert Panel (pen portraits here). A consultation has also been launched on the disapplication of the ICT National Curriculum from September 2012 (see here). NAME is preparing an on-line Symposium to explore the implications for music of the Expert Panel’s recommendations. This will be launched in the next week or so, and we hope to have a large number of contributions so that we can collectively think through what is being proposed. However, much will depend on how Mr Gove decides to take forward the Expert Panel’s recommendations.
National Plan for Music Education
If you are reading this, there is a good chance that you are taking a few minutes off from preparing a bid to the Arts Council to be part of a Hub. If you are reading this and not part of a Hub proposal, then perhaps you need to find out who to talk to locally! There is no part of the music education sector that is not touched by the National Plan (see NAME’s summary of the Plan). Of particular interest to NAME is how schools are planning to integrate their provision with that of their local Hub. (We had submitted a bid to Youth Music for a Networking project to support this aspect of the Plan, and unfortunately it was unsuccessful. Any suggestions as to how we could carry this forward are welcome. Please email chair@name.org.uk).
Ofsted
Ofsted’s new framework for Section 5 Inspections came into force in January. This includes reference to music in the guidance on the judgment of “overall effectiveness”, providing some leverage in the argument for curriculum breadth (details here). The subject-specific guidance for music has been updated to clarify what is meant by “appreciation of music” in this context (details here).
Initial Teacher Education
Future arrangements for the training of new teachers have been occupying much of my time in my day job at the University of Reading. Arising from the National Plan was an opportunity to submit bids to the TDA for providing modules supporting the training of primary teachers. Many members of NAME will have been involved in preparing proposals to support both specialist and non-specialist music teachers, addressing what has for a long time been recognised by NAME as an area of need. Less positive are the changes to secondary ITE. In addition to the 13% cut in the total number of trainees for next year, the government’s policy of moving training into schools has left 14 out of the 24 HE providers with fewer than 10 trainees, making their PGCE courses unviable. With the details of how the new School Direct route into teaching will work still to be announced, there is real uncertainty surrounding the training of music teachers in September 2012. Again, this is a good time to find out what is going on in your area and to tell us about it.
A time to get involved
Whether you are by inclination an optimist or a pessimist, this is undoubtedly a time when the level of uncertainty gives us all an opportunity to shape our future. One of the things that I have learned in my time as Chair is how often it is that the people who take the time to make suggestions are the ones whose ideas stick. This is the time to get involved. The more you can contribute – both locally and collectively through NAME – the more likely it is that we will end this period of uncertainty with a system of music education we are proud to be part of.
James Garnett
28 January 2012
